Jets’ playoff drought reaches 15 years amid QB turmoil

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ — The New York Jets enter the final four games of the season in an all-too-familiar position: no playoff hopes, mired in quarterback uncertainty.

Their almost-driving-age playoff drought turned 15 on Sunday, as the Jets were officially eliminated with their 34-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium. It sealed what had become inevitable two months ago during their 0-7 start.

Once again, the Jets are the sole owners of the longest active playoff crisis in North America’s men’s sports leagues – the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS. They have shared it for several months each year with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabers, currently 14 years old.

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor, making his third start for demoted (and injured) Justin Fields, lasted only two series (six games) due to a groin injury, forcing rookie third baseman Brady Cook to play in his first NFL game. The score was 21-0 at the time, and the former undrafted free agent threw two interceptions in a rough debut.

Who will start next Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars is anyone’s guess. Fields, who reported knee soreness last week in practice and was ruled out Friday, could be an option, although Glenn clearly prefers Taylor.

“We need to get him healthy,” Glenn said. “The quarterback situation, we’ll look at it next week. But yeah, it’s always tough when your starter goes down.”

It’s been that kind of year for the Jets.

At 3-10, they posted double-digit losses for the sixth straight year, tying them for the third-longest such streak in the Super Bowl era. The longest skids belong to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 12 years (1983-1994) and the Las Vegas Raiders with seven years (2003-2009).

“It’s an every year thing,” running back Breece Hall said of the playoff skid. “It definitely starts to take its toll on you. You see your peers and you see other guys that you know are as good as or better than, and they’re having a lot of fun.”

Hall, who will be the Jets’ highest-profile free agent, added: “With AG, I see the vision and I see how the guys are trying to turn things around. We just have to be better as a team and execute what the coaches ask us to do.”

Center Joe Tippmann said: “It sucks. [We’ve missed the playoffs] Since I’ve been here, it’s something we’re constantly trying to fight and overcome. It’s a shame to find ourselves in this situation again this year. »

Glenn became the sixth Jets coach to join the drought. It started with Rex Ryan (2011-2014), who passed it to Todd Bowles (2015-2018), who passed it to Adam Gase (2019-2020), who gave it to Robert Saleh (2021-2024), who was fired after five games last season. Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich arrived.

Glenn was hired in January, promising to change the fortunes of the franchise, but he had the worst start of any coach in Jets history. Since then, the Jets have traded star defensive players Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams and benched Fields, Glenn’s hand-picked quarterback.

“Just get better, that’s all. That’s how I deal with things,” Glenn said of the playoff slump. “That’s the only thing we can do is improve and get better. Because before you can start winning consistently… you have to improve. You have to improve in every area. That includes us as coaches.”

Glenn blamed himself for the latest loss, saying his team wasn’t ready to play. He said, “This one is for me.” » The Jets opened the game by allowing two long touchdowns. Miami scored another touchdown after intercepting a Taylor throw. The score was 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The Jets generated just 207 total yards, much of it coming in garbage time. Cook (14 for 30, 163 yards), who had no first-team reps in practice, was sacked six times. What upset Glenn the most was that the defense allowed 239 yards on the ground.

“It’s BS,” he said. “You can’t give up 240 yards on the ground. It’s that simple.”

Glenn’s biggest challenge moving forward will be solidifying his position at quarterback. Sixteen different quarterbacks started at least one game during the 15-year drought. Cook could be #17.

Kicker Nick Folk, the last link on the Jets’ last playoff team in 2010, acknowledged fans’ frustration, but he preached patience with Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey.

“You can build a house on a bad foundation, but it won’t stand very long,” Folk said. “So I think AG is trying to do the right thing and build a good foundation to be able to build something sustainable.”